Could there be a more coveted dream job for a cartoonist than working at MAD Magazine? And could there be bigger shoes to fill than Al Jaffee's? Jaffee, who turns 100 years old this weekend, has been responsible for every MAD Magazine back cover fold-in spanning from the 1960s up until just last year when he retired at the age of 99.
Oddly enough, Jaffee's successor doesn't have a deep history with comics or publishing. He had been a storyboard artist and illustrator until a fateful assignment from Pitchfork Review in 2013 where he was asked to spoof a MAD fold-in. That gig put him on a new path as a cartoonist. He began drawing comics for outlets like Vice and The Stranger until ultimately landing the crown jewel of cartooning jobs.
Read all about it in Jake Austen's excellent article "The Last Idiot Standing" in The Chicago Reader this week.
